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Monday, July 30, 2012

Review: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Title:Something Strange and Deadly

Author:Susan Dennard

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

You know how they say that some things that come into your life are exactly what you need and they always arrive at the exact time you need them? Well, my experience with Something Strange and Deadly was similar. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump the past few days, reading books that I haven’t clicked with and writing steadily more and more snarky reviews for them, so when Something Strange and Deadly arrived on my doorstep, I was both overjoyed, excited, and just a tad bit skeptical. In all honesty though, I needn’t have worried. While I will admit that I am a tiny bit biased towards this novel due to its steampunk/historical fiction genre, parasol-wielding heroine, and handsome inventor-turned-romantic-interest, I think Something Strange and Deadly is a remarkably written debut novel that contains something to love for everyone, despite its flaws.

In a re-imagined Post Civil War setting, the dead are slowly rising and their armies are populating major Union Cities. When Eleanor Fitt, the daughter of a once wealthy and now deceased businessman, goes to pick up her elder brother Elijah from the train station, she is shocked to find that he has been kidnapped by the dangerous necromancer who is raising the dead and whose army has moved from New York to her own town, Philadelphia. Thus, Eleanor does the only thing she possibly can – she seeks the help of Spirit-Hunters, a small group of people who claim to be able to destroy the supernatural forces at work. While Eleanor begins to spend more and more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the infuriating, yet handsome, rascal-turned-inventor Daniel, she also begins to uncover the truth about her own past, her father’s death, and most importantly, herself.

I don’t think I can even begin to describe how much I enjoyed this novel. Susan Dennard wastes no time in immersing the reader into her world and while the writing was a little sloppy in the first chapter, the action most certainly wasn’t. From there on, the pace is impeccable – fast-moving, intriguing and leaves you constantly turning the pages. Furthermore, I loved how the mystery of Elijah’s disappearance and the mystery of Eleanor’s suitor, the enigmatic Clarence Wilcox who also happened to be an old family friend, came together in an extremely clever manner. In addition, the obvious research Dennard put into her story, placing her characters in real-life settings, and her take on zombie/necromancer lore was both refreshingly original and entertaining.

Nevertheless, despite these wonderful quirks, I did have a slight difficulty adjusting to the setting of this novel. It takes awhile for the reader to realize just what time period the story takes place and I still have questions such as why Eleanor’s mother deemed it fit to conduct a séance and release a dangerous spirit, which happened to follow Eleanor throughout the novel. It isn’t the spirit itself that confuses me, but why séances were considered such a popular event in society during that time. In addition to the not-so-detailed world-building, I found aspects of the plot to be rather predictable, but thankfully they weren’t overly stressed like they were in Cinder and never cast Eleanor under the light of stupidity and nor did they particularly bother me, the reader.

While these flaws do remain to scar the otherwise perfect qualities of Something Strange and Deadly, they never detracted from the overall experience of the novel. Plus, what really made this story tick were the characters themselves. Eleanor is one of my favorite steampunk heroines – I love the way she brands her parasol menacingly, I love her sharp wit and ready intelligence, and I love the clever manner in which she manages to elude high society to help the Spirit-Hunters and her brother. Not only is she courageous, brave, and filled with admirable morals, she is also flawed, sarcastic, and vastly different from other women of her time. I simply adored reading her narration and to me, Eleanor felt like a long-lost friend.

Yet, Eleanor wasn’t the only amazing character in this tale. I loved Joseph, the leader of the Spirit-Hunters who was both wise and powerful. Not only was he kind to Eleanor, but he appreciated her efforts and seemed to constantly encourage her search for her brother and restore her faith in humanity. Jie, a young Chinese girl who managed to stay under the radar by dressing like a man, also became an immediate favorite. She makes Eleanor think about the choices she has and shows her that it is possible to live a life away from the expectations of society. While I loved the diversity that both Jie and Joseph, a black man, brought to this tale, my favorite secondary character was, without a doubt, Daniel. Daniel is many things – an inventor, a fighter, a Spirit-Hunter and, a dashingly handsome and infuriating young man. I loved the witty banter between him and Eleanor and their romance was extremely subtle and beautifully written. Perhaps best of all is the fact that their ending is realistic, shockingly bittersweet, and leaves the reader aching for more.

What else can I say about Something Strange and Deadly? It is traditionally a novel about zombies, filled with your usual paranormal and steampunk elements, but it also has a large emphasis on feminism, amongst other themes. I loved the subtle manner in which Dennard managed to weave diversity, social politics, and class hierarchies into this tale and that simply made it all the more richer for me. In addition, while characters such as Clarence Wilcox and Mrs. Fitt, Eleanor’s mother, were not my favorites, I did like the role Clarence played during the novel and Mrs. Fitts’ constant lecturing to Eleanor brought forth many cultural tid-bits of the time period which I thought was a nice touch. Most importantly however, while Dennard’s debut certainly does have its faults, I was able to overlook them and have a truly wonderful time reading this tale. It has quickly become one of my favorites, not only due to its gorgeous cover, but also due to its heart-warming characters who feel like my very own friends. Something Strange and Deadly is, without a doubt, one of the more notable, creative, and original debuts of the year and I cannot wait to get my hands on its sequel to see where this lovely new series is headed.

16 comments:

Great review, Keertana! I'm glad to see you liked this so much. I enjoyed it too, but wasn't completely blown away. It was a little predictable for me but I did really love the characters. It's impossible not to like Eleanor with her parasol. ;) I'm looking forward to the next book! :)

YAY KEERTANA!!! I'm so glad you loved this book as much as I did! I adored Daniel, he was by far my favorite secondary character as well, and though I was unclear about the time period as you were, it didn't mar the story at all for me. I was able to just sort of gloss over it and focus on Eleanor and Daniel. Can't wait for the next book! Such a wonderful and well thought out review:)

Thanks Jenny!(: I loveeed Daniel and I can't wait to see more of him in the future! Plus, Ms. Dennard told me that there's going to be a novella from Daniel's POV coming out next year, so we have that to look forward to! :D

It seems that the one complaint that everyone has about this one is the predictable parts, the unmasking was not a surprise. I personally wanted more details on The Dead but like you I loved Eleanor and Joseph, Daniel and Jie. And yes the ending wad great, too. No cliffhanger!

I mentioned those seances in my review as well, that part bothered me a bit. But I later read somewhere else entirely that seances WERE a favorite pastime back than for the rich and bored and it made sense. Anyway, I'm so happy this came at the right time for you. I got stuck on minor flaws and ended up giving it 3 start, but I still enjoyed it a lot. It was different for sure. Plus, there is that rascal Daniel that made me smile a million times.Wonderful review!

Thanks Maja! Yes, those seances confused me but it's good to know that they were authentic and part of the time period. I wish that had come up during the novel at some point. I think it's impossible not to smile when Daniel appears on the page and I'm glad you still enjoyed this one despite your qualms with it. Hopefully you'll enjoy the sequel even more! :D

Wonderful review!!!! I am REALLY looking forward to reading this one and after your fabulous review I want to read it so much more. The characters sounds very engaging and although I am not a huge fan of zombies this story sounds very entertaining! Thanks for sharing. I love a good historical fiction/ paranormal/mystery novel!!!!

Wow, your review is BRILLIANT BEYOND WORDS, Keertana! I absolutely have no idea that this book could be that complex!! <3 Wow, feminism issue while still having wonderful steampunk and paranormal elements in the book? That's not easy to reach!! Now I want this book in my bookshelf!! x)

I'm glad that this book can break your reading slump! Nothing worse than a reading slump, don't you think so? Writing negative reviews always give me itchy feeling LOL, so I'm glad that you finally read a book you absolutely love! <3 ;)

Thanks Hilda!(: I had no idea I was going to be treated to so many complex themes in this novel either, so it was a very pleasant surprise. I loved it and I can't wait to see what you think of it! :D

Gosh, reading slumps are terrible! I always feel miserable writing snarky reviews and while they're somewhat entertaining to write at times, writing positive reviews leave a much better taste in your mouth. It's been awhile since I've read a book this good, so I was really glad to have gotten it so soon after its release! :)

I'm glad this pulled you out of your reading slump, Keertana! I was a little shocked at the ending for a couple of reasons and one of them was Daniel! Yes, I agree, it was bittersweet. I can't wait to see what happens next with those two. Great review. :)